In another sign of his ascension in both play and notoriety, Anthony Edwards is creeping onto more ballots for the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award as the regular season inches toward its conclusion.

The final NBA MVP straw poll conducted by ESPN — which seeks responses from all award voters — had the Timberwolves guard appearing on 11 of 100 ballots, with one second-place vote, five fourth-place votes and five fifth-place votes.

That’s a jump from February’s straw poll, which featured Edwards on just four MVP ballots. Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, a two-time MVP, is the overwhelming leader with 85 first-place votes and 935 total voting points, followed by Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Edwards has risen in respect as the number of his highlights continues to rise — surely his block to seal the win in Indiana and his dunk over John Collins in Utah caught eyeballs — but also Minnesota continuing to reel off victories in the wake of Karl-Anthony Towns’ injury has caught the attention of NBA onlookers.

The higher Edwards finishes on this year’s ballot, the more top of mind he’ll be for folks when next season begins. The 22-year-old has previously stated his MVP aspirations.

Perhaps more important, getting this type of MVP consideration likely affirms that Edwards is going to be an All-NBA selection this season, which will push the value of his contract extension from last summer from roughly $207 million to an estimated $260 million.

TWO-MINUTE REPORT

The last-two minute report from Minnesota’s win Tuesday over Houston said Minnesota was the beneficiary of two missed calls at the end of the game.

The NBA said Anthony Edwards fouled Jabari Smith Jr. on an inbounds with 70 seconds to play and Jaden McDaniels fouled Jalen Green with 41 ticks to play.

Daniel Bratulic on Twitter posted a study of which teams have been the most harmed or benefited the most from missed calls in the final two minutes of games this season — according to the reports — and the Wolves have actually been the third-most fortuitous, with 23 errors working in their favor and 15 going against them.

KAT’S WELLNESS CHALLENGE

Karl-Anthony Towns is partnering with the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities to launch the 32 Wellness Challenge, which intends to spread awareness and raise funds to support and uplift youth mental wellness.

Those looking to donate or gather more information can do so at boysandgirls.org/32-wellness-challenge.

“The Boys and Girls Club’s commitment to mental wellness is very important to me and I am honored to work with them on the 32 Wellness Challenge,” Towns said in a release.

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“As our planet hurtles toward climate tipping points, beyond which climate chaos is irreversible, every dollar we spend on fossil fuels today takes us backwards.”

CityViews are readers’ opinions, not those of City Limits. Add your voice today!

Last week, I took a hike. If you commute across the Williamsburg Bridge, you may have seen our hardy group of grassroots activists wearing hiking boots, backpacks, and, critically, giant utility bills.

We walked from Brooklyn to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office in Midtown, singing songs and leading chants for the better part of two hours. At the end of the march, over 50 New Yorkers rallied to demand cleaner heat and lower energy bills. Our demand was simple: pass the full NY HEAT Act in the budget.

Our hike against rate hikes comes as Con Edison and National Grid customers face cost increases of nearly $50 every month, and as legislators debate a final state budget, expected any day now. On the table in these negotiations is the NY HEAT Act, popular legislation that would stop the consumer subsidization of New York’s fracked gas system, moving off fossil fuels and limiting household energy bills to 6 percent of a family’s income. The urgent need for this legislation could not be more obvious.

New York is embracing the move off fossil fuels, from our city and state gas bans to Local Law 97. But the job is not done without NY HEAT. Substantial federal and state funds exist to aid landlords and homeowners with electrification, but we need to ensure that the clean energy transition doesn’t leave low- and middle-income families hanging. The move off fossil fuels must be an equitable one that ensures affordability for everyone—that’s where this bill comes in.

The NY HEAT Act would end the “100 foot rule” and change the obligation to serve, which force consumers to subsidize the expansion of the gas system and therefore undermine electrification. Just as crucially, the bill would cap energy bills for everyone. The Senate is on board, putting the full NY HEAT Act in their “one house” budget the last two years. The Assembly and governor have also included versions of the bill in their budget proposals, but neither have embraced the affordability provisions central to the bill’s popularity with New Yorkers.

New Yorkers are mad about our rising utility bills—and we should be. Every year, ratepayers spend at least $200 million on new fracked gas infrastructure. As our planet hurtles toward climate tipping points, beyond which climate chaos is irreversible, every dollar we spend on fossil fuels today takes us backwards.

The status quo is hurting New Yorkers. Households that pay more than 6 percent of their income on energy are considered as highly energy burdened, meaning they pay an unsustainable amount relative to their income and other costs. According to a new report from WIN Climate and NY Renews, nearly 1 in 4 New York City households fit this description. These households are more likely to stay stuck in cycles of poverty than those who pay proportionally less for their energy, forced to choose between paying for energy and other necessities like food or medicine.

The NY HEAT Act would make New Yorkers’ energy burden a thing of the past. By capping energy bills at 6 percent of income, the 24 percent of New York City households currently struggling with high energy bills would save an average of $142 each month, essentially cutting bills in half.

As Gov. Hochul negotiates a final state budget with Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, she must heed the calls of those rallying outside her office this week: New Yorkers need the full NY HEAT Act, and we need it now.

Alex Beauchamp is northeast region director at the national environmental advocacy group Food & Water Watch. He is based in Brooklyn.